Pop
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ROSÉ of BLACKPINK is gearing up to release her first-ever solo album Dec. 6, but before she takes the leap, the 27-year-old K-pop star says she got a little advice from one of the most successful pop soloists to ever do it: Taylor Swift.
Just a couple weeks ahead of the arrival of Rosie — ROSÉ’s 12-track debut LP independent from her famous girl group — the performer opened up about the bond she forged with the 34-year-old “Anti-Hero” singer while at a New York City hangout in a cover story interview with I-D published Monday (Nov. 18). “I told her I’m such a huge fan, and I just had some questions,” she recalled of introducing herself to Swift. “As soon as she met me, she’s like, ‘Spill, let me help you out.’”
The “APT.” singer added that Swift “was so ready to help me” and even passed along her number as the two conversed during the gathering, which was hosted by producer Jack Antonoff at Electric Lady Studios. “Who does that? Like, you’re Taylor Swift!” ROSÉ gushed in retrospect.
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“I’m really grateful for her, because I was at a moment where I was drowning a little,” the K-pop star added. “She is literally the coolest, and she’s such a girl’s girl. She was telling me – ‘make sure to take care of this, this and this’ – like, logistics. She was trying to protect me. Me becoming solo, being independent, it’s not an easy thing. There are a lot of things I should be careful with, and she gave me a rundown on all the things I have to look out for. That was the coolest part – she’s killed it in the game, and she was kind enough to walk me through.”
The interview isn’t the first time ROSÉ has expressed her admiration for the 14-time Grammy winner, whose Eras Tour show she caught in Tokyo in February. Afterward, the girl group member shared a five-minute video of herself singing along to Swift’s performance of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” and wrote on TikTok, “Best 10 minutes in tokyo.”
More than a year prior to that, Swift proved that she’s a BLINK by using BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” in a TikTok video while on her way to the 2022 VMAs, where the “Karma” artist would later announce her 10th studio album, Midnights. That night, the show’s cameras also captured Swift dancing along to the same track as it played over the speakers.
See ROSÉ’s I-D cover and photos from the shoot below.
There were plenty of highlights and unique moments at Tyler, the Creator‘s 10th Camp Flog Gnaw festival at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles over the weekend. But one of the biggest surprises occurred during Matt Champion’s set when BLACKPINK’s Jennie popped out to join him for a run through their collaboration, “Slow Motion.” Explore See […]
Sir Rod Stewart has another run of North American shows in the works. The “Maggie May” singer announced the dates for his One Last Time 2025 tour on Monday morning (Nov. 18), which will make its U.S. debut in Austin, TX on March 7.
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After rolling the tour out across Europe and Asia earlier this year, the 79-year-old pop icon will play 20 amphitheaters and arenas in the spring and summer as part of an encore North American run of the tour, which will feature opening act Cheap Trick. The outing will bring Stewart to Lake Tahoe, NV, as well as Philadelphia, Toronto, Charlotte, NC, Birmingham, AL and Nashville before winding down on August 15 with a gig at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, MO.
A release announcing the tour promises an “unprecedented evening of iconic hits” including such fan favorites as “You Wear It Well,” “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy,” “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” “Every Picture Tells a Story,” “Young Turks,” “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” and “Forever Young,” among others.
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Rod Stewart Fan Club members will have access to a presale beginning on Tuesday (Nov. 19) at 10 a.m. local time here. A series of additional presales will take place throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning on Friday (Nov. 22) at 10 a.m. local time. Citi cardmembers will also have access to a presale beginning on Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday (Nov. 21) at 10 p.m.; information is available here.
Stewart released his 33rd studio album, Swing Fever, last year, which he promoted with dates in Asia and Europe, as well as the final shows in his 13-year Las Vegas residency, Rod Stewart: The Hits. The singer will be back at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace from March-June 2025 for “The Encore Shows” run, which will mix Stewart’s biggest hits, with surprises from the Great American Songbook, swing tunes and deep cuts.
Check out the dates for Stewart’s 2025 North American summer tour below:
March 7 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center ATX
June 14 — Lake Tahoe, NV @ Outdoor Arena at Harveys*^
June 15 — Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amp*^
July 8 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
July 11 — Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
July 12 — Philadelphia, PA @ TD Pavilion at the Mann
July 15 — Saratoga Springs NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
July 19 — Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 22 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
July 25 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena^
July 26 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
July 29 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
August 1 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
August 2 — Birmingham, AL @ Coca-Cola Amphitheater
August 5 — Brandon, MS @ Brandon Amphitheater
August 8 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
August 9 — Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
August 12 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
August 14 — Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater
August 15 — St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
*Not A Live Nation Date | ^Cheap Trick not on these dates
The first trailer for the upcoming Beatles 64 documentary chronicling the band’s arrival on U.S. shores six decades ago captures the hysteria that greeted John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all those years ago.
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The nearly two-and-a-half-minute clip opens with black and white footage of the band doing bits on a train ride before cutting to footage of McCartney wailing on a cover of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.” The film directed by David Tedeschi (Personality Crisis: One Night Only) and produced by Martin Scorsese will premiere on Disney+ on Nov. 29.
The doc folds in footage shot by famed documentarians Albert and David Maysles (Gimme Shelter), as well as new interviews with living members McCartney and Starr, as well as with Smokey Robinson, Motown founder Berry Gordy and the late Ronnie Spector. “We’re in America! America!,” Starr says enthusiastically to Scorsese at one point in describing the Beatles’ exuberance about making their trip across the Atlantic. Cue archival footage of Ringo raving about arriving in New York only to be told he’s actually in Washington, D.C.
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“It was like being in the eye of the hurricane. It was happening to us and it was hard to see,” Lennon says in voiceover in the film that includes footage of the band’s first American concert. The trip included, of course, the Fab Four’s historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, where more than 73 million people tuned in to what would be the big bang of Beatlemania in the U.S.
A synopsis of the film reads: “On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in New York City to unprecedented excitement and hysteria. From the instant they landed at Kennedy Airport, met by thousands of fans, Beatlemania swept New York and the entire country. Their thrilling debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show captivated more than 73 million viewers, the most watched television event of its time. Beatles ’64 presents the spectacle, but also tells a more intimate behind the scenes story, capturing the camaraderie of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they experienced unimaginable fame.”
Director Tedeschi told Rolling Stone that the doc features more than 17 minutes of never-seen-before footage — mostly from the Maysles — with the music produced by Giles Martin. He said the movie covers the three week period the Beatles were in America, from their arrival in New York, where they stay four four or five days, before moving on to Washington and then Miami. The Washington show at D.C. Coliseum was the Beatles’ first-ever arena concert, with Tedeschi promising that the Martin-restored sound on the D.C. gig has made it sound “better than it ever has.”
“There’s footage from the Maysleses all the way through, but there’s other stuff. We had a great researcher who found a lot of local Miami footage from local archives — a lot of footage was buried, and he really had to go digging in order to find it. So that’s exciting,” the director said of the cleaned-up tape that was remastered by Peter Jackson’s WingNut Studios, which did the same for Jackson’s Get Back Beatles series.
In a fresh interview, McCartney notes that the Beatles’ visit came shortly after President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, speculating that “maybe American needed something like the Beatles to be lifted out of sorrow.”
Watch the Beatles 64 trailer below
Katy Perry will play her first full U.K. tour in seven years on her upcoming Lifetimes arena tour. The slate will see her play five shows throughout the U.K. in Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and London in October 2025.
Perry released her seventh studio album, 143, in September and the LP charted at No. 6 on both the Billboard 200 and the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart, her lowest positions for over a decade.
The announcement says that the Lifetimes tour will be a “career-spanning run of live shows, including all the hits from across her multi-million selling albums.” Perry is due to launch the outing in Mexico next year, before heading to Australia for a string of shows and then additional Latin America dates next September. She will be performing at Capital FM’s Jingle Bell Ball at London’s O2 Arena on Dec. 8.
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Perry has also announced that £1 from every ticket sold on the tour’s U.K. leg will be donated to the Music Venue Trust, an organization that champions and supports grassroots music scenes and venues throughout the U.K. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. (GMT) on November 22 here.
Speaking on the donation, Perry said, “I’m proud to donate £1 from every ticket on the U.K. leg of The Lifetimes Tour to Music Venue Trust so that venues like Water Rats and Scala, where I played my first U.K. shows, can continue to usher in the next generation of music talent.”
Mark Davyd, CEO of the MVT, added, “We want to say a huge thank you to Katy and her team for stepping up to support grassroots music venues, artists and promoters. The contribution from these shows will keep venues open, get new and emerging artists out on tour, and enable promoters to bring the best in new music to our communities.”
Perry is the latest act to partner with the MVT to help support the future of grassroots music spaces. Earlier this year, Coldplay announced that 10% of all proceeds from their upcoming 10-night stand at Wembley Stadium in London next summer will be donated to the grassroots music scene.
Speaking to Billboard, Davyd said that “our door is very open to anyone” when it comes to donations. He added: “I want this to become the new normal – I don’t think that’s stupidly ambitious. There are lots and lots of examples of industries – all properly functioning industries – to reinvest to get future gains. As soon as you start talking about it as an investment program into research and development, I don’t think companies should be resistant to that but should be thinking, ‘that makes perfect sense.’”
Last week, the British government backed the idea of a voluntary levy on all stadium and arena tickets sold in the U.K. live music industry as “as soon as possible” to “safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector.”
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said in a report that, “We believe this would be the quickest and most effective mechanism for a small portion of revenues from the biggest shows to be invested in a sustainable grassroots sector.”
Katy Perry’s Lifetimes U.K. 2025 Tour Dates:
Oct. 7 – Glasgow, Scotland @ OVO HydroOct. 8 – Manchester, England @ AO ArenaOct. 10 – Sheffield, England @ Utilita ArenaOct. 11 – Birmingham, England @ Utilita ArenaOct. 13 – London, England @ The O2
Last week, supergroup Band Aid – organized by Sir Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure – announced that they would be releasing an “ultimate mix” of festive charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” for its 40th anniversary. The new release will feature vocals from across the four recorded versions from 1984, 1989, 2004 and 2014, including takes from Bono, George Michael, Harry Styles (as part of One Direction) and more.
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Ed Sheeran, who performed on the 2014 edition of the single alongside Coldplay, Sam Smith, Rita Ora and more, has since said that his vocals are being used without his permission on the latest remix.
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Writing on his Instagram Stories, Sheeran said, “My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release,” Sheeran said. “Had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals.”
He added: “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”
Sheeran was quoting a post by Ghanian-English afrobeats musician Fuse ODG, who says he declined to take part in the Band Aid 30 version back in 2014. “I refused to participate in Band Aid because I recognised the harm initiatives like it inflict on Africa,” he wrote.
“While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity.”
He continued, “By showcasing dehumanizing imagery, these initiatives fuel pity rather than partnership, discouraging meaningful engagement. My mission has been to reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism.”
“Today, the diaspora drives the largest funds back into the continent, not Band Aid or foreign aid providing that Africa’s solutions and progress lies in its own hands.”
The song was first released in 1984 following a report by the BBC into famine in Ethiopia, but has since been criticized as an example of white-savior narrative towards issues in Africa. Moky Makura, executive director of non-profit organization Africa No Filter writing in The Guardian that “[Live Aid’s] portrayal of Africa triggered the birth of a patronizing industry whose mission it was to ‘save Africa.’”
Over the weekend, Geldof responded to a report by New Zealand’s 1 News. “This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands if not millions of people alive,” he said.
“In fact, just today Band Aid has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to help those running from the mass slaughter in Sudan and enough cash to feed a further 8,000 children in the same affected areas of Ethiopia as 1984.
“Those exhausted women who weren’t raped and killed and their panicked children and any male over 10 who survived the massacres and those 8,000 Tigrayan children will sleep safer, warmer and cared for tonight because of that miraculous little record.
“We wish that it were other but it isn’t. ‘Colonial tropes’, my arse.”
Billboard has contacted Band Aid for comment.
Live from the Short n’ Sweet Tour, it’s Domingo.
On Sunday night (Nov. 17) at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, Sabrina Carpenter brought out a very special guest straight from Miami for her tour segment where she arrests a crowd member for being “too hot” ahead of her frisky song “Juno.” This time, it was Domingo, the seductive Saturday Night Live character played by Marcello Hernandez who originated in a viral sketch last month to the tune of Carpenter’s smash hit “Espresso.”
“My name’s Domingo,” Hernandez said from the crowd to wild cheers, after catching Carpenter’s attention. When Carpenter asks where he’s from (“I’m from Miami, baby,” he growls), she replies, “I wish you were from my bedroom.”
Hernandez then riffs off Carpenter’s lyrics yet again by paraphrasing the words to the saucy Short n’ Sweet cut “Bed Chem”: “I’m the cute boy with the blue jacket and the thick accent.”
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“Is there anything you want to say before I arrest you, Domingo?” Carpenter asks, which sends him straight back to that original SNL sketch: “Came all this way had to explain direct from Domingo/ Sabrina’s a friend, she’s like my sis… but I would hook up though.”
Domingo’s first appearance on SNL came Oct. 12 and featured host Ariana Grande singing an uncharacteristically out-of-tune bridesmaid group song. Carpenter reacted to the bit last month, joking on her Instagram Story alongside a clip: “Very nice and on pitch.” Sharing the singer’s appraisal on her own Instagram Story, Grande replied, “tysm we tried.”
Hernandez’s tour appearance was especially timely since Domingo resurfaced on the latest episode of the long-running comedy series Saturday night, when host Charli XCX starred in a new sketch set to Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go” (“D-O-M-I-N-G-O” was a perfect fit all along).
Previously on the tour, Carpenter “arrested” Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown at her Atlanta stop, saying, “I’m really distracted right now because I see this gorgeous girl,” as she interacted with the actress on the big screen.
Sunday’s show was one of three stops for Carpenter’s tour in the Los Angeles area, starting Friday night at Crypto.com Arena – where she brought out Christina Aguilera for “What a Girl Wants” and “Ain’t No Other Man” – and wrapping Monday night back at the Forum.
Watch Carpenter’s moment with Domingo below:
Jin‘s Happy tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Nov. 15) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s debut EP as their favorite new music release of the past week.
The poll featured a strong competition from all genres, but Jin’s new collection especially inspired fans to make their choice heard, bringing in almost 83% of the vote. Voters this week chose Happy over new music releases from talent including Gwen Stefani, Tate McRae, Linkin Park, Shawn Mendes, Rauw Alejandro, Shaboozey, Lil Nas X and more.
Happy, the long-awaited set from the BTS superstar, has just six tracks, but it’s the longest listening experience fans have gotten from him yet; on his own Jin’s previously released singles only, making him the seventh and final member of BTS to put out a multi-song solo project.
“Putting the album together has allowed me to pause and reflect on just how much ARMY means to me,” Jin recently told Billboard. “As I worked on each track, I thought about what I wanted to convey to them, how I want to bring joy and happiness to them, while also expressing how much I missed them during our time apart.”
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Jin was referring to the break he had from music while completing his mandatory military service.
“Before enlisting,” he said, “I was focused mainly on our group activities, so a solo album didn’t feel right at the time. But with all the members now taking turns serving, it felt like the right time to share something personal with ARMY who have supported us all along. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.”
Among the new music trailing behind Happy on this week’s poll is Gwen Stefani’s Bouquet, which came in second place, and Tate McRae’s “2 Hands,” which came in third.
See the final results of this week’s poll below, or here.
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Charli XCX hosted SNL for the first time and starred in nine sketches Saturday night (Nov. 16) in an episode that indulged in the pop star’s brat vibes.
Pulling double duty Saturday night as host and musical guest, Charli got things going with a monologue that explained how her career started (“I played at my first rave when I was 15 years old — my parents actually drove me there”), how she’s gotten to where she is (“Today, I consider myself to be a triple threat, which in England means I sing, I drink and I smoke”) and what it truly means to be “brat.”
“So many people have asked me, ‘What is ‘brat’?’ And honestly, it’s just, like, an attitude. It’s a vibe. For example, the new Martha Stewart documentary: When Martha gets mad about an old magazine article and she says that she’s glad the journalist who wrote it is dead, that is brat. And on Friday, when that exact journalist responded and said, ‘Hey, I’m alive, b—-!’ — that is extremely brat,” Charli said in front of the live audience at Studio 8H.
Besides bringing a dose of dry wit, the three-time musical guest brought her late-night party to the stage Saturday with Brat tracks “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife” (the original album versions, not her Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat collabs).
The episode had an SNL cast member playing Charli in one sketch — so that Charli could star opposite, as her tourmate Troye Sivan. (Sivan’s response: changing his profile pic to Charli’s version of him.)
Charli’s impersonation skills were also put to the test in portrayals of Adele and Victoria Beckham, and she was part of a group cover of Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” that welcomed the now-recurring character Domingo, the guy who crashed a wedding reception in Ariana Grande’s episode last month.
The best sketch, which had Charli’s humor matching a certain SNL trio’s comedy, was actually cut for time during the live broadcast. Thankfully we’ve got the internet and SNL uploaded this one online.
Here’s a ranking of every sketch Charli XCX was in Saturday night, when SNL‘s Nov. 16 episode aired. Watch all nine sketches below.
“Banger Boyz”
Charli XCX delivered some Wicked impressions during her hosting debut on Saturday Night Live.
On Saturday (Nov. 16), the 32-year-old British pop star pulled double duty as both host and musical guest. She showcased her comedic chops in a standout sketch about auditions for the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked.
The sketch begins with a voiceover for the movie: “Audiences can’t wait to see the star-studded cast of Wicked,” as clips from the Jon M. Chu-directed film, featuring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, play on screen. “But before production starts, actors across Hollywood audition to step foot in Oz. Here are their never-before-seen screen tests.”
The sketch features a series of hilarious fake auditions from various celebrities, including JoJo Siwa (Chloe Fineman), Bernie Sanders (Sarah Sherman), Sydney Sweeney (Fineman), Al Pacino (Dana Carvey), Martha Stewart (Fineman), and Bad Bunny (Marcello Hernandez).
Charli kicks things off with a spot-on impression of Adele. Dressed in an elegant black dress and sporting long, wavy hair reminiscent of the British singer’s look during her Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas, Charli’s Adele exclaims, “Oh, hello, can I take me shoes off? OK, wicked!” as she flings off her heels and struts down a yellow brick road. “Oh my God! I said the name of the bloody movie! That’s f—ing funny!” she adds, laughing with exaggerated flair.
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Later in the sketch, SNL‘s Bowen Yang, who famously impersonated Charli during the show’s Season 50 premiere, returns to play Charli once again — this time while standing next to Charli herself, who appears as her Sweat tour mate Troye Sivan.
“Can I call you Elphie?” Bowen’s Charli asks, prompting Troye (played by Charli) to respond, “No.” Bowen continues, “I only bullied you because I’m a b—- and you’re a witch. And you’re a witch, I’m confused.” Charli’s Sivan clarifies, “I’m not a witch. I’m a top.”
Yang also plays Pfannee in Wicked, which hits theaters on Nov. 22.
Elsewhere in the episode, Charli electrified the crowd with performances of “360” and “Sympathy Is a Knife,” both tracks from her sixth album, Brat. Released in June, the set debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned widespread acclaim, including a 2025 Grammy nomination for album of the year.
Saturday’s appearance marked Charli’s third time on SNL, following previous musical guest spots in 2014 and 2022.
Watch SNL‘s “Wicked Auditions” sketch below. For those without cable, the broadcast streams on Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans access to previous SNL episodes.